The Big Ant Health Care Guide

Posts Tagged ‘heavy drinkers’

South Australian health experts warn that alcohol is being underestimated as a major cause of cancer. The SA Cancer Council claims that excessive drinking increases the risk of cancer of the mouth, larynx, oesophagus, liver, colon and breast and it may also be associated with cancer of the pancreas and lung. According to chief executive of the SA Cancer Council Brenda Wilson, more and more evidence was pointing to alcohol as a major cause of cancer.

Total avoidance of alcohol, although optimum for cancer control, cannot be recommended in terms of the broad perspective of public health, in particular in countries with high incidence of cardiovascular disease,” Dr Boffetta said. Instead, the researchers said that men and women ought to limit the amount of alcohol they consume to reap the benefits but avoid the hazards.

According to the WTO estimates, in developed countries in 2000, alcohol caused 185,000 deaths in men and 142,000 in women, however, it prevented 71,000 male deaths and 277,000 female deaths in the same year. It is not perfectly clear how alcohol rises the odds of developing cancer, but genetic susceptibility is a crucial component.